Please could you advise me if this name I have chosen for my baby daughter is acceptable. The name is Arwa, apparently it was the name of the Prophet (saw's) Aunt 'Arwa Bint Abdul Muttalib'. I have already registered my baby, I asked a mufti and he told me it was a good name, however now our local Imam has learnt of it and has shown disapproval.He says that alot of these names are Pre-islamic and should be avoided. I do know that any name the Prophet (saw) found unacceptable, he would change it. Although I have had it checked, it will be reassuring to have it in writing as the matter is causing me great concern Jazak-Allah

Salaams, I wanted to find out whether under the Hanafi madhab women are allowed to pray in jammat, as in a women leading the salaat but stands in the middle at the front row?Some people say you are not allowed and someone said to me that Aisha R.A led ladies in salaat therefore permissable. Please clarify.Jazakallah

A while back i was diagnosed with leaukeamia and had to undergo chemotherapy, due to which i lost all my hair. Alhamdullilah i am now well and my hair has grown to the length of about 2 inches or so. I am going to perform umrah soon, inshallah. Could you please tell me how halaq (hair trimming)should be performed at the end of umrah?

Assalam,Im Sameer and from London. I recently had a marriage proposal, and while initially everything seems to be fine and we also did namaz Isthekhara with positive results, the issues now from the girl's side is that they consulted a Qari to check again if the marriage would work. After checking, the Qari stated that we will have problems and rows if we do get married, but it will only work if one of us change our name saying things like names are like water and fire and sometimes they doesnt match. Now I dont understand this and has never came across this situation in my life...I will really appreciate if you will be able to advise me on this as I really love the girl, and if I do change my name (As the Qari said) will it work? I have faith in Allah and I do know the importance of namaz Isthekhara too.. Im very worried.. Insha Allah I will hear from you soon.. Wassalam

Assalamualaikum ,
I am a very extremely shy person, although i know its islamically good for a female to be shy, i think that it affects my daily life too much. i find it hard to talk to people, even close family, i usually sit there quietly while people around me talk, like at uni or any courses that i do. Although i have friends who understand that im a quiet person and dont mind me not talking much..i find that being shy stops me from making more friends....also its really bad to the extent that i cannot say sallam to anyone, i only reply back once someones already said sallam to me but am too shy to be the first one to say it..it also holds me bak from answering questions at tutorials and lectures, when i know the answer but dont have any confidence to say it.
overall i think i have a very low level of confidence, and could be a much better person, a better muslim if i wasnt so shy..is there anyway to overcome this shyness, not so much that i become really loud and talkative, but just so i can comfortably talk around people and have enough confidence to say what i want without being held back by my shyness and lack of confidence.
jazakallah.